Now in its eighth year, the Design Computation Symposium is one of the premier events at Autodesk University.  This year we are broadening the reach of the half-day symposium with the theme: “Ubiquitous Computing: How Computing Is Being Made More Accessible.”  Writing code has traditionally been the realm of computer nerds and scientists.  Today, high-school, middle school, and even elementary school students are learning programming. With the rise of STE(A)M in education and the teaching of Computational Literacy in schools, how is the world changing and what will this current generation come to expect out of design tools in the near future? Mobile devices and new ways of programming are opening up the world of computing to more people.  Instant feedback allows this expanded group of programmers to test their solutions instantly and create better tools. With computational resources that are easier to access, the focus can change from how to write code correctly to what kinds of problems can we solve, which problems are worth solving, and how well can we solve them?  Come hear fascinating stories from inventors, entrepreneurs, architects, and academics about how they are enabling more people to leverage design computation in inspiring ways.

That the games industry is huge, pervasive, influential, 'bigger than Hollywood', etc., are known and often regurgitated statements. This talk isn't about that. This talk focuses on today and tomorrow's worker and consumer. If games are so pervasive, what does today's business customer/employee expect from the technologies they are expected to use or purchase? If we look at the proposed changes to the global education system - kids learning to code at a primary school level and the use of games to explore complex issues - what will those future graduates expect of their workplaces? Is every industry going to be making games in the future?

This case study explores how two educators have created girl-focused STEM events to support and empower our next generation. In order to help close the gender gap in their engineering classes, they created programs that pairs young students with high school students and professionals in industry. Maker Girl Mania, a STEM event created in 2015, uses a variety of hands-on activities at over 25 stations for students K-7th grade to explore, problem-solve, build, and tinker with different facets of engineering. Over 100 high school volunteers and industry partners help the young makers at each of the 25 stations to be successful in their explorations. Tech Girls, an annual event that pairs middle school girls with high school girls, introduces young students to the classes and careers available in STEM including Engineering, Design, Architecture, and Automotive.